Home made cottage cheese is another thing we can make from real milk. I make it sometimes after I have made butter. I skim what cream is left on top of the buttermilk and pour the remainder into a crock. I let it sit in a warm place for about 2-days or until the milk has clabbered. I am talking about raw milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized. Raw milk contains all the necessary bacteria needed to make the milk clabber.

At the end of 2-days the whey should have separated from the curd. The whey is the watery part of the milk. The curd is the solid part. Then I cut through the curd with a knife and pour the curds and whey into a kettle. I slowly heat it up over a very low heat until the curds have firmed up a little. Next I pour the mixture into a cheesecloth sack and hang it over a large bowl to drain.

When all the liquid has drained from the curd I transfer the curds from the cheesecloth to a bowl and chill it well in the refrigerator. Once it is chilled I mix a little salt and fresh cream into it. This cottage cheese will keep in the refrigerator for about 5-days. It generally does not last that long because we eat it up pretty fast.

One way I like it is to mix a little chives or finely chopped onion into it and put it over a baked potato. Yummy, and no preservatives!!